Composing the Politics of Musical Creation: The Composer as the Mediator of Collaborative Work Interactions by Helga Arias

This dissertation investigates composer-performer collaboration through the lens of artistic research, guided by the development and implementation of the Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC). Designed specifically for this study, the IFMCC offers a framework for shaping interactions between composers and performers, with a focus on iterative decision-making, feedback, and shared authorship. The research addresses how collaborative composition alters creative roles, compositional processes, and performative outcomes. Three case studies form the core of the investigation: a residency with Ensemble Vortex; a remote collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble; and a participatory composition project situated in a pedagogical context at the Heidelberg University of Education. Each case reflects a distinct collaborative environment, ranging from professional ensembles to educational institutions. Grounded theory methods are employed to analyze audiovisual documentation, participant interviews, digital portfolios, and workshop data. The findings highlight the importance of group size, disciplinary diversity, and tacit knowledge in shaping collaborative flow and authorship. They further show how technology, when adapted responsively, can shift the composer’s role from author to facilitator, enabling more distributed creative agency. By comparing the model’s application across varied contexts, the study outlines how the IFMCC supports both compositional openness and structural coherence—distinguishing it from models based on open form or post-hoc feedback. The dissertation concludes with a proposed taxonomy of distributed authorship, a discussion of institutional limitations, and recommendations for implementing collaborative models in artistic and educational frameworks. Keywords: Composer–Performer Collaboration, Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC), Collaborative Composition, Grounded Theory, Performative Practices, Participatory Composition, Artistic Research, Institutional Frameworks Abstract (Deutsch) Diese Dissertation untersucht die Zusammenarbeit von Komponist:innen und Interpret:innen aus der Perspektive der künstlerischen Forschung, geleitet durch die Entwicklung und Anwendung des Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC). Das eigens für diese Studie entworfene Modell bietet einen Rahmen zur Gestaltung von Interaktionen zwischen Komponist:innen und Interpret:innen, mit besonderem Fokus auf iterative Entscheidungsprozesse, Rückmeldungen und geteilte Autorschaft. Die Forschung behandelt die Frage, wie kollaboratives Komponieren kreative Rollen, kompositorische Prozesse und performative Ergebnisse verändert. Drei Fallstudien bilden den Kern der Untersuchung: ein Residenzprojekt mit dem Ensemble Vortex; eine Fernzusammenarbeit mit dem International Contemporary Ensemble; sowie ein partizipatives Kompositionsprojekt im pädagogischen Kontext an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Heidelberg. Jede Fallstudie repräsentiert ein unterschiedliches kollaboratives Umfeld, das von professionellen Ensembles bis zu Bildungseinrichtungen reicht. Zur Analyse von audiovisuellem Material, Interviews, digitalen Portfolios und Workshop-Daten wurden Methoden der Grounded Theory herangezogen. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen die Bedeutung von Gruppengröße, disziplinärer Vielfalt und implizitem Wissen für den kollaborativen Prozess und die Autorschaft. Zudem zeigen sie, wie Technologie – bei flexibler Anpassung – die Rolle der Komponist:innen von der Autorenschaft zur Moderation verschieben kann, wodurch kreative Verantwortung stärker verteilt wird. Durch den Vergleich der Anwendung des Modells in verschiedenen Kontexten wird aufgezeigt, wie das IFMCC sowohl kompositorische Offenheit als auch strukturelle Kohärenz unterstützt – und sich dadurch von Modellen des offenen Formdenkens oder nachträglichen Feedbacks unterscheidet. Die Dissertation schließt mit einem Vorschlag für eine Taxonomie verteilter Autorschaft, einer Diskussion institutioneller Rahmenbedingungen sowie Empfehlungen zur Implementierung kollaborativer Modelle in künstlerischen und pädagogischen Strukturen. Schlüsselwörter: Kollaboration Komponist:innen-Interpret:innen, IFMCC, kollaboratives Komponieren, Grounded Theory, performative Praktiken, partizipative Komposition, künstlerische Forschung, institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen

Chapter 5 — Case Study #1: Signifié- Signifiant

This chapter examines Signifié–Signifiant as the first case study in which the Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC) was tested and refined through practice. Developed in collaboration with Ensemble Vortex (Geneva, 2019–2020), the project investigated how feedback mechanisms and performer agency could shape compositional structure within a technologically mediated ensemble environment. Through a series of workshops, recording sessions, and collaborative reflections, the work evolved from improvisatory exploration to a hybrid composition integrating animated notation, cue-based interaction, and conventional scoring.

The chapter contextualizes this process within broader discourses of distributed creativity and shared authorship. It analyses how decision-making was negotiated across the stages of the IFMCC—proposal, response, reflection, and integration—and how these interactions informed the aesthetic and structural design of the final piece. The resulting work is discussed both as a performative artifact and as a methodological probe into the epistemic conditions of collaborative composition.

Section 5.5 of the dissertation documents the compositional phase in which the materials generated through earlier workshops were consolidated into a performable structure. This stage corresponds to the analytical and developmental moments of the IFMCC, where raw sonic interactions were filtered, organized, and formalized into a coherent multimedia score.

The process marked a shift from collective experimentation toward compositional decision-making, yet performer feedback remained integral to shaping texture, pacing, and density. The section reflects on how dialogical processes were translated into form, how transitions between performative modes were articulated, and how the resulting piece balanced openness and structural clarity. Rather than conceiving composition as the closure of experimentation, this phase reframed it as an act of responsive synthesis—an ongoing negotiation between shared input and curatorial authorship.

The complete score of Signifié–Signifiant is provided here as a complementary document to the written dissertation. It presents the final articulation of the piece, integrating animated, cue-based, and traditionally notated sections developed through the IFMCC. The score demonstrates how collaborative exchanges were embedded into formal and notational decisions, offering insight into the translation of process into structure. It should be read not as a definitive product, but as a provisional crystallization within an evolving practice of recursive composition.

Section 5.6 focuses on the public realization of Signifié–Signifiant and the reflective analyses that emerged from it. The performance with Ensemble Vortex at Théâtre de l’Alchimic (Geneva, 2019) served as both culmination and continuation of the compositional process, enabling the IFMCC to be observed in its performative dimension.

The section discusses how the dynamics of live execution—temporal flow, coordination, and emergent interaction—revealed new aspects of the model’s functioning and limitations. Post-performance interviews and rehearsal observations further illuminated how agency was distributed among participants and how technological mediation shaped responsiveness. These insights informed subsequent refinements of the IFMCC and underscored the methodological role of performance as a site of feedback and knowledge production.

This section addresses the public realization of Signifié–Signifiant and the reflective analyses that arose from it. The performance took place with Ensemble Vortex at La Fondation l’Abri, Geneva (Composer’s Next Residency, 2019), with the instrumentation of bass clarinet/recorder, electric guitar, percussion, viola, violoncello, double bass, and live electronics on stage (duration ca. 10 minutes). Framed by the Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC), the event functioned both as a culmination of workshop-derived materials and as an investigative situation in which interaction, coordination, and interpretation could be observed under live conditions.

The performance operationalized core conceptual premises: drawing on Saussure’s articulation of signifier and signified, color-coded textual prompts (signifiers) were projected to specific performers, who responded by sonically realizing their individual signifieds. The gradual increase in prompt complexity produced denser textures and shifting relational dynamics. Post-performance interviews and rehearsal observations illuminate how agency and responsibility were negotiated in situ, how technological mediation affected attention and pacing, and how the IFMCC’s recursive logic manifested across reactive, coordinated, and interpretative modes. These insights inform the methodological reading of performance as a site of knowledge production and feedback for subsequent iterations.

Performance Documentation — Signifié–Signifiant

Co-creation with Ensemble Vortex within the Composer’s Next Residency, 2019

Venue: La Fondation l’Abri, Geneva
Instrumentation: Bass Clarinet / Recorder, E-Guitar, Percussion, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass, and live electronics on stage
Duration: ca. 10 minutes

This recording presents the complete performance of Signifié–Signifiant, developed collaboratively through the IFMCC. Conceptually, the piece translates Saussure’s model of the sign into musical interaction: color-coded, projected words (signifiers) address individual performers, who respond by articulating their acoustic interpretations (signifieds). As the work unfolds, the prompts become more complex, thickening ensemble interaction and redistributing attention and initiative.

The video documents how form emerges from this interplay of cues, response, and coordination—progressing from reactive gestures to collectively shaped textures and, ultimately, to interpretative reading of notated material. In this respect, the performance functions as both artistic realization and methodological probe: it stages the IFMCC’s recursive feedback processes and reveals how authorship and agency are negotiated within a technologically mediated ensemble practice. Viewers are invited to attend to the transitions between performative modes, the pacing of prompts, and the evolving balance between constraint and freedom that structures the ensemble’s collaboration.

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Helga Arias - Composing the Politics of Musical Creation: The Composer as the Mediator of Collaborative Work Interactions - 2025